1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card connector, and particularly to a card connector which includes at least two fulcrums so that an inserted card can be withdrawn from the card connector quickly and conveniently.
2. The Prior Art
Portable computer are generally installed with card connectors for reception/withdrawal of cards. These card connectors generally have an ejector mechanism for withdrawal of a card (or cards) therefrom. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional card connector 5 comprises a housing 50, an engaging member 51 including legs 511 extending from the housing 50 and a metal shielding plate 510, and an ejector mechanism 52. The ejector mechanism 52 comprises a guiding frame 521, an ejection plate 522, a lever 523, and a handle bar 524. The guiding frame 521 has two parallel portions respectively connected to two ends of the housing 50 thus forming two sides of the connector 5. The ejection plate 522 is movably positioned on a top surface of the housing 50. An engaging member 5221 projects from the ejection plate 522 for pivotable engagement with a hole 5231 defined in the lever 523. The lever 523 is positioned on the ejection plate 522 which is further positioned on the shielding plate 510. A hole 5232 defined in the lever 523 is in alignment with a hole 5101 defined in the shielding plate 510. A relatively big hole 5222 defined in the ejection plate 522 allows a rivet (not shown) or the like to pivotably connect the hole 5232 of the lever 523 and the hole 5101 of the meal shielding plate 510 without being blocked by the physical portion of the ejection plate 522. One end of the lever 523 is pivotably connected to a yoke and 5241 of the handle bar 524. The handle bar 524 is slidably received in an outer channel of the guiding frame 521 and is operated to move back and forth in the outer channel for driving the ejection plate 522 via the lever 523 to move back and forth so as to eject an inserted card (not shown) from the housing 50. The guiding frame 521 includes an inner channel which allows the card to slide into and out of the housing 50.
Also referring to FIG. 2, during ejection of a card 60 a handle portion 5242 of the handle bar 524 is depressed in a direction toward the housing 50. The hole 5232 of the lever 523 is a fulcrum, the end of the lever 523 engaged with the yoke end 5241 of the handle bar 524 is a driving point, and the pivoting portion 5231 is a loading point, thereby ejecting the card 60 from the housing 50. With this structure, a driving arm length F is greater than a loading arm length R. However, since the fulcrum thereof (the connection structure of the holes 5232, 5101 and the unshown rivet) is the only fulcrum to absorb the force in the lever mechanism, the rivet is apt to be damaged or deformed after extended use. Another drawback is that due to the single fulcrum, the handlebar 524 requires a relatively long sliding length to eject the card out of the housing 50 thus the handle bar 524 needs to slide a relatively long distance which also results in an increased size of the connector. Therefore, to develop an extended life and compact size of the connector, a new structure is earnestly required to replace the single fulcrum structure of the ejector mechanism 52.